Holiday Magic On Display During Winterthurs Yuletide Tour
Special Annual Event Runs Until Jan. 2
November 19, 2021
Celebrate the season with a one-of-a-kind holiday experience. The Yuletide Tour at Winterthur showcases rooms in Henry Francis du Ponts former home decorated in full holiday splendor, including specially decorated trees that celebrate the garden. On view from Saturday, Nov. 20, to Sunday, Jan. 2, 2022, the displays are inspired by the traditions and festivities of the season as enjoyed by H. F. du Pont and his family. Special holiday programs throughout the season include Wonderful Wednesdays in December and evening events featuring live jazz performances, caroling, and workshops. In addition to the Wednesday evening festivities, visitors can enjoy live one-man performances of A Christmas Carol by Gerald Charles Dickens, the great-great-grandson of Charles Dickens; wine and chocolate tastings; and family events with Santa and Mrs. Claus. Winterthur founder H. F. du Pont (18801969) was born and spent his life on the estate, so the holidays were always a memorable time to celebrate with family and entertain friends. Rooms on the tour will re-create the parlor where the du Pont family and their guests opened gifts on Christmas Day and the dining room where they enjoyed Christmas dinner. Two vignettes depict New Years calling, a custom still practiced by the du Ponts. Every Jan. 1, the women of the extended family gathered in hostess groups at various houses while the men traveled in groups to call upon them, bearing small gifts. One display represents a calling from the 1890s, while a second re-creates one from the 1940s. The decorated trees on view include the renowned 14-foot dried-flower tree, an evergreen decorated with hydrangeas, yarrow, statice, globe amaranth, and other flowers and, new to the tour this year, a second breathtaking tree designed with dried flowers. Other trees are inspired by areas of the garden such as the March Bank and Azalea Woods. In celebration of the upcoming exhibition Jacqueline Kennedy and H. F. du Pont: From Winterthur to the White House, opening May 7, 2022, a decorated tree re-creates the one displayed at the White House in 1962, created by the first lady. With the theme of a Childrens Christmas, it featured candles, birds, snowflakes, angels, tiny twig stars, small wrapped gifts, reindeer, candy canes, stuffed animals, and a model PT-109 boat commemorating the presidents heroic deed during World War II. The trees on the Yuletide Tour also complement the exhibition Outside In: Nature-inspired Design at Winterthur, on view through Jan. 2. The visually eclectic and immersive exhibition explores the connection to nature that is evident everywhere at Winterthur and which greatly influenced H. F. du Ponts design aesthetic, one that has inspired other designers ever since. Winterthur is located on Route 52, six miles northwest of Wilmington, Del., and five miles south of U.S. Route 1. Information about the Yuletide Tour is online at www.winterthur.org/holidays.
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